Will Avengers: Infinity War and the still untitled Avengers 4 be Robert Downey Jr.’s final appearances in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? With the duology marking the culmination of the first ten years of the franchise, it would make poetic sense for the daddy of the MCU to bow out in order to signal the beginning of a new chapter, but at this stage, all we have are fan theories as the cast and crew remain quiet on the topic.
While talking with Empire Magazine, for example, the man who is Iron Man was asked what he’ll do when his Marvel career comes to an end. He explained that he’ll take the future as it comes, cleverly circumnavigating the question of whether his time as Tony Stark will be over soon.
“You know what, I’ve learned a lot from the missus. You know how what or how you’re gonna end until it is. That takes a lot of the edge off. She’s learned how to be like, ‘You won’t know until you’re there so you’re wasting your time on that equation. That’s not on the test.'”
The chat then turned to the strained relationship between Tony and Steve Rogers, as the pair came to blows when we last saw them back in Captain America: Civil War. Previously, Chris Evans had suggested that the duo would be able to bury the hatchet in Infinity War, but Downey’s comments hint that the rift between them could much more difficult to heal.
“To me the big question is could he ever in clear conscience pick up that flip phone Cap sent him at the end of Civil War. That is really it. For me I think back to Obadiah and that deception, and it’s one of those things It’s why Steve Perry never went back to Journey.”
Finally, the actor was pressed for info on whether this rift means that Tony and Steve will spend most of Infinity War apart. While he was too smart to give anything away, he offered up some praise for his co-star Chris Evans…which might have revealed a different spoiler altogether.
“I don’t know,””I feel like my instinct would be to bust his jaw. All I know is that there’s something about being on camera with Evans. I hate to say it, but I don’t know what I’m gonna do when he’s not Cap anymore. I look at him and think this is the truest, most down moral psychology I’ve ever seen and then they go, ‘Cut!’ and Chris is like, ‘Hey buddy, I gotta get out of here.’ I’m like, ‘You wanna go to dinner?’ ‘Nope.’ ‘Okay! Love you! Love you, Cap! I mean, Chris!'”
Other Avengers that Iron Man will be paired with in Avengers: Infinity War include Doctor Strange, Spider-Man and Star-Lord. Cap, meanwhile, will lead pretty much the rest of the heroes from their base in Wakanda. But will both of them make it out of the battle against Thanos alive? All will be revealed when the movie smashes into cinemas on April 27th.
